Club Sandwich

Her 20-year high school reunion only accentuates the fact that Ivy Schneider’s life isn’t what she dreamed it would be. Raising three kids while her husband tours the country with his gospel quartet, she wonders what happened to sharing parental responsibilities. Then her mother breaks her hip, and Ivy’s preppy sister and irresponsible brother barely lift a finger as the bulk of caregiving falls on her shoulders.

And that’s not Ivy’s only problem. The man who left her mother many years ago now wants to be a part of Ivy’s life again. Ivy’s old friend from high school is ready with a helping hand and a listening ear when her husband isn’t. Then there are the deadlines for her newspaper column and helping run her family’s restaurant.

Fortunately Ivy encounters other women in the “sandwich” generation – mothers bringing up children while caring for aging parents. As they all begin sharing their struggles in a support group they dub “Club Sandwich,” each finds renewed courage to face the problems in their lives.

Quirky, yet filled with true-to-life drama, Samson has penned a novel to reach the hearts of all mothers. A muddle of relationships and chapters chock full of everyday details keep the pages turning. A must-read for women. -- Katie Hart, Christian Book Previews.com

Book Jacket:

Hey, Friend–

Do you know what it’s like give to 100
percent and still feel like it’s not–and you’re not–enough for anybody?
To be caught between caring for an aging parent and raising young children? I
lived in that place for four years.

Ivy Schneider lives in this place,
too, and she isn’t at all happy about it. Her husband Rusty spends ten months a
year on the road singing in a gospel quartet, and her mom gets sicker every day,
requiring increasingly more care and time. Ivy’s dad took off years ago but
still comes around–for free meals. Her brother and sister are more than happy to
let responsibility rest on Ivy’s shoulders. Maybe she could handle it all if
only her darling three-year old terror, Trixie, would just “go” on the potty.
Who will take care of Ivy while she takes care of the world?

No one, it
seems. Then Ivy runs an ad in the paper to find folks like herself: women of the
“sandwich generation,” squeezed between the demands of raising young children
and caring for an aging parent. Soon she and the other women of Club Sandwich
are building uncommonly deep friendships, witnessing the reality that in fact
no woman can be everything to everybody, and discovering firsthand that
they can do more than they imagined possible with the help of each another and
with a strong dose of faith.

If your life is about caring for others, I
dedicate this book to you. Welcome to the club. You are most definitely not
alone.